Apparatus for distributing material centrifugally



Dec. 2, 1969. v w. B; HANNUM, JR 3,481,048

APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL CENTRIFUGALLY Fild Aug. 8, 1966 -FLUID SUPPLY INVENTORY? WILLIAM .B. HANNUM,JR.

A r'ws.

United States Patent 3,481,048 APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING MATERIAL CENTRIFUGALLY William B. Hannum, Jr., Greentree Road, Paoli, Pa. 19301 Filed Aug. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 570,836 Int. Cl. F26b 17/10 US. C]. 34-59 19 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for distributing material, including a spin member having a generally conical lower face, a generally symmetrical form about a vertical spin axis, and an upper face in such form that it maintains contact with material dropped by gravity upon it from above as it urges the material outwardly by centrifugal force along said upper face. The sole support for the spin member is provided directly beneath the spin member by a vertically oriented annular support member which terminates a fluid conduit and by fluid supplied through said conduit. The support member is of such relative dimensions to receive the narrow end of the conical lower surface of the spin member within the internal walls of the cooperating support member.

The present invention relates to a device performing high speed centrifugal effects upon selected materials fed to it. The present invention more specifically concerns a device which by use of these centrifugal effects is able to finely divide or otherwise control the processing of selected materials fed to a high speed rotating member in order to process them in some desired way.

The present invention is directed to a device which structurally may consist of very few basic pieces but which may be elaborated on in accordance with the process desired to be accomplished. The heart of the invention is a spin member having a generally conical face and a generally symmetrical form about a vertical spin axis. The spin member is used in combination with a fluid conduit terminating in a cooperating support member. This support member receives the narrow end of the conical surface of the spin member within its hollow internal wall and supports the spin member when at rest. At least one of these cooperating members has fluid intercepting elements arranged at the surface of that element. Fluid fiow through the space between the spin and support members lifts the spin member from the support member and causes revolution of the spin member. A feed supply for supplying selected material to the opposite side of the spin member in the vicinity of the spin axis is provided whereby the selected material fed to the spin member is flung outwardly away from the spin axis.

In essence then, the device of the present invention in its basic form consists of a spin member which is caused to spin by the force of fluid passed between it and the support member, one or both of the cooperating surfaces of which have grooves or fins, or their functional equivalents, which intercept the fluid and cause the spin member to spin about its spin axis. The support member preferably conforms to the shape of the conical face of the spin member which it embraces. The fins (vanes) or grooves are usually of helical form and usually on the spin member but also alternatively or concurrently on the cooperating support member. Fins or grooves when used on both members are preferably arranged to spiral in opposite directions so that the effect of the passing fluid on the spin member will be enhanced. The function of the fluid as it passes between the members is first to lift the spin member off the cooperating support member,

ice

and then to cause the spin member to rotate. Because the spin member has no bearings other than the support element, which it does not contact, its speed is virtually unlimited except by the limitations of fluid dynamics involved with the particular fluid employed. The fluid employed may be a liquid or a gas, or even a solid suspension in a liquid or a gas. It may be completely inert or it may be intended to react with the feed materials after it has been finely divided by the spin member. Alternatively or additionally to the possibility of reacting chemically with the feed material, the fluid may be heated or cooled for a physical processing effect upon the feed material.

The feed material may take a plurality of forms. It has to be in such a form that it can be fed to the region of the spin axis of the spin element opposite the conical face. Ordinarily, this side will be generally flat and the purpose will be to spin the material fed away from the axial area in order to finely divide it. In some cases, instead of finely dividing the material, it may be effectively spun into threads or formed into needles or other forms. To this end and for various functional purposes, the shape of the surface of the spin member opposite the conical face may be modified from a plane flat face to one having either a concave or a convex surface. The surface, no matter what shape, may be plain or provided with fins or grooves for producing or enhancing some desired effect. In some instances instead of terminating at the upper edge of the conical surface, the surface may be designed to prevent the escape of the material flowing to the edges except from some selected specific region. It should be understood that no limitation is imposed upon the shape or form of the side of the spin member opposite the generally conical surface. It should also be understood that the generally conical surface in addition to being straight, as shown, may be curved either concavely or convexly or in some compound form along the conical surface to achieve a desired effect. Ordinarily the cooperating support member will then be cooperatively formed of mating contour but this is subject to a wide range of variations within the scope of the invention and there need be no conformance at all.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the following drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention, shown with a portion of the structure in vertical section and the balance in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the spin member and its cooperating support member, with the spin member shown in elevation and the support member in section;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred type of spin member;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of spin member;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 2, but on a smaller scale, showing an alternative heating arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a spin member having a modified top;

FIG. 8 is a similar view of a spin member having a still different top;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view partially vertically sectioned of a modified form of spin member having a top surface with a modified shape; and

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing a spin member having a top of still another modified shape.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus shown has its functional center in a top-like spin member 10 having a generally conical bottom and a generally flat top surface. A fluid conduit 12 terminates in a cooperating support member 14 for supporting and partially housing the spin member when at rest. The arrangement is such that fluid entering the conduit 12 from a suitable supply passes upwardly and outwardly through the support member 14 between the support member and the spin member 10. This flow functions, first, to lift the spin member from the support member and second, because suitable fluid intercepting elements are provided at the surface past which the fluid flows of at least one of the cooperating elements, to cause revolution of the spin member. To facilitate spinning the spin member is made symmetrical about a vertical axis in its orientation relative to the cooperating support member 14 is preferably designed to take maximum advantage of the flow. The conical face of the spin member is received, narrow end first, within the cooperating support member 14 so that at least part of the spin member is housed within the internal walls of the support member. When at rest the spin member extends further into the support member and is physically in contact and supported by the support member. When fluid flows, the spin member is raised vertically out of contact with the support member, the separation between the spin member and the support member, depending upon the physical properties of the fluid used, its volume, and its rate of flow.

A feed supply conduit 16 shown schematically in FIG. 1 terminates in a feed Opening above and approximately on the spin axis of spin member 10. The nature and particularly the size of the feed conduit may be varied with in wide limits in accordance with the feed material fed, and its rate of feed, to the surface of the spin member. It will be understood that suitable controls will be pro vided where rate of flow or other variables are critical. Spacing above the spin member may be fixed or adjustable in accordance with the requirements of the selected feed material in a particular case. In a typical situation the material fed by the feed supply conduit might be a fluid, probably a liquid, which is intended to be finely divided by the centrifugal action of the spin member 10 to whose top surface it is fed. One contemplated use is to dehydrate materials such as various foods, which are fed in liquid form by the feed supply conduit 16 to the spin member 10 and spun outward at such a high rate that they become finely divided and dried into a powder or crystals, according to the nature of the material employed.

With this type of process an outer chamber or housing 18 is normally employed. The housing ordinarily advantageously may be generally cylindrical in form, coaxial with and symmetrical about the spin axis, The bottom of the housing 18 is advantageously terminated in a funnel shaped collector portion 20 to collect material in its powdered or other particulate form. If desired to facilitate processing, a further fluid supply 22 may be provided and the further fluid supply may be introduced through a means suitable to the particular use of the fluid. For example, a ring 24 may provide a continuous curtain of air adjacent and generally concentric to the wall of housing 18 formed by upwardly directed jet producing orifices to minimize adhesion of dried material to the sidewalls. The fluid barrier thus formed serves to impede the outward movement of particles and prevent their reaching or impacting the wall at high speed. In another situation instead of a ring a special purpose nozzle might be substituted. For example, an atomizing nozzle may be used to provide a vapor to coat finely divided particles formed on spin member. In this way, for instance, moisture might be added by coating to facilitate compacting or pill making later, or for any other purpose.

In some processing, the volume of fluid introduced through conduit 12 will be sufficient for the intended purpose. This fluid always serves the double function of supporting and spinning the spin element. Normally the fluid provides the only bearing for the spin element. The

fluid often is, for example, air or some non-reactive gas which serves only these two functions. However, the fluid may be used to aid or participate physically or chemically in the process performed. The fluid might even contain finely divided material to be acted upon in the chamber. Furthermore, the temperature of fluid supplied through the conduit 12 may be controlled to some degree either to enhance a desired reaction, or to heat the chamber generally. If a greater volume of fluid than can be supplied through conduit 12 is required, a further fluid supply 22 may be desirable and the means of introduction into the housing 18 may assume a variety of forms depending upon volume required and/or the function the fluid is to perform. If the volume of fluid introduced becomes sufiiciently great to tend to float particulate material generated in the process employed one way of handling the problem is to supply a filter 26 (here schematically shown) in the top of the housing to permit the escape of the gaseous material, but to prevent the escape of the particulate material. In alternative arrangements at system may be employed wherein the gaseous material is used to convey the processed particles along conduits to a suitable collector.

Examples of the divergence in the types of materials which may be processed by the apparatus of the present invention include powdered soups, or powdered metals, in the case of powdered soups, the volume of air employed and the temperature may be factors to be considered. In the case of powdered metals, if the metal itself is desired, an inert atmosphere may be desirable and nitrogen, or some other gas inert in the situation, might be used as the fluid supplied by conduit 12 and supply line 22. On the other hand, if the gaseous atmosphere were desired to react with molten metal to form a powdered compound, an oxidizing or reducing gas might be fed through conduit 12, supply 22, or both. For example, a finely divided powdered oxide of the selected molten metal fed to the spin member might be produced in an atmosphere of oxygen.

Another different type of application is the adding of fluid to dry particles. The dry particles may be fluidized or transported in a gaseous medium through conduit 12 and the liquid vaporized by the spin member, either heated or not to permit coating of the solid particles in the chamber 18.

As seen in FIG. 1 it is also possible to provide a heating effect by more direct means such as an induction heating coil 28 supporting conductors 30 of which supply high frequency currents for inducing heating of spin member 10. An effective application of this technique would ordinarily be in the case where a liquid fed to spin member 10 by feed conduit 16 is to be heated. The heating coil is subject to many forms and arrangements and may be made adjustable in height to accommodate different levels of operation of spin member 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, some of the detail of the spin member 10 and the cooperating support member 14 may be seen in the enlarged views. FIG. 2 clearly shows that the spin member 10 is a top-like conical element having a flat top surface 32. The top, however, may be modified within wide limits, as will be described.

The sidewalls 34 are generally conical in form, and the cone may be truncated to provide a blunt end 36 or may be pointed. The conical sides 34 may actually be concave or convex or a compound curve in profile as well as the straight sides shown. Similarly, the internal sidewalls of the cooperating supporting member 14 are usually of a shape generally conforming to the conical surface 34 of the spin member 10. Preferably, the surfaces are essentially of conforming shapes so that the air stream is kept approximately uniform in thickness, but in variations the support member may not define a generally conical form at all. Either the conical surface 34 of the spin member 10 or the interior surface 38 of the support member 14, or preferably both, are provided with tluidintercepting elements. In one preferred form these elements are spiral grooves as shown. The grooves 40 on'its surface impart spin to the spin member through the action of the fluid upon these elements as the fluid flows past the spin member. If grooves 41, or the equivalent, are also used in the support member 14, they are spiraled in the opposite direction from the spirals on the spin member in order to cause the fluid passing through the opening to spin in the direction of desired rotation of spin member 10 and thereby carry the spin member into a spin about its vertical spin axis. On the other hand, if both membersare grooved, the spiral grooves 40 of the spin member should extend in a direction to oppose or block the flow at least in part to cause the spin memher to rotate in order to move the obstruction out of the way of the flow. The specific shape or form of these grooveswill depend upon the fluids with which they are used and, like the spin member form, their shape or form may be designed for use with a particular fluid or group of fluids. The spin member of FIGS. 2 and 3 is shown in FIG. 4 in a perspective view which shows the grooves 40 more clearly. V

The use of modified fluid intercepting elements on the spin member in the form of fins, instead of grooves, is shown in FIG. 5. In this structure the conical member still has a plain flat top 42 but from its sidewalls 44 ext'end fins arranged in a spiral or helical pattern. Fins otithe' stationary support member (not shown) act on the moving fluid and fins 46 on the spin member sidewalls 44 react to. the moving fluid like turbine blades to produce rotation about the vertically oriented spin axis. These fins. or blades may be of various types. As with the use of grooves, blades on the support member are oriented in the opposite direction from blades or spin member. A plain, or finned or a grooved support member according tothe'part icular needs of the system, including particularlyv the nature of the fluid employed, may be used with a finned or grooved spin member, and vice versa.

FIG. 6 is intended to show how when the spin element 10 is floated above the support member 14 the top of the spin-member becomes sufliciently exposed to employ a local induction heater 48, which is supplied with high frequency alternating current to induce heat specifically 1n the s p" member. The 'heater 48 is arranged so that it lies below the top surface 32 of the spin member when the spin member is in its raised operating position so that material spun off from the surface will'clear the heating element. In other respects, however, the dimensions are designed to provide most eificient heating of the top surface of the spin member so that the heating is concentrated in the spin member. It is the material fed by feed conduit 16, which is heated when it strikes the spin member. The fluid flowing between the two members 10 and 14 may also be heated ot some minor extent but this is inefficient, and preheating of the fluid before it enters conduit is preferred. Modifications to the structure shown and other arrangements having to do with heating material in process in the apparatus described will occur to those skilled in the art and are intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the same types of elements used on the conical sidewalls applied to the top of the spin member. In FIG. 7, top 52 is provided with grooves 56 which are radially directed and which tend to direct the material fed to the depressed axially positioned center area of the spin member along these radial channels. The sidewalls 54 are plain in this instance although they could be alternatively grooved as shown in FIG. 4 or ribbed as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment in which fins are provided standing above the top surface 62 of a spin element. These fins, or blades, 66 in this case, are spirally directed, although they could alternatively be straight radial or canted fins. Conversely the grooves of FIG. 7

could be spirally arranged like the flanges in FIG. 8 or some other curved fashion. Again, the sidewalls 64 are shown plain although they may be of the form shown in FIGS. 4 or 5.

Special effects in processing are sometimes desired. For example, hastening the flow at a particular point across the top surface and not at others. Spin elements shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are illustrative of spin members designed for special effects. The top surface 72 of the structure of FIG. 9 has a pointed center specially designed to provide a smooth curve outwardly the gradient of which decreases with radius. Such a device might tend to speed initial outward flow or help subdivide the material fed to the top surface of the spin element. This top surface might additionally be grooved or finned just as its conical sidewall 74 might be grooved or finned and otherwise formed.

The structure of FIG. 10 has a dish-shaped center which tends to retain material somewhat longer. Such retention may be beneficial to achieve certain processing effects. The sidewalls can again be grooved or finned to provide means to accelerate and drive the spin member under the influence of the fluid flow.

The structure of the present invention has wide potential application. In addition to applications such as the powdering of metals and their reaction with other materials to make powdered compounds and the application of food spray drying already mentioned, there are numerous other applications. Another use of the invention might, for example, be to feed moisture in liquid form through the feed conduit 16 and spin member 10 to add moisture to a vapor being fed to the supply line 12 as supplemented when necessary by supply 24, or other feed means. The feed through the conduit 16 ordinarily is liquid or gas but it can be conceivably already powdered material or other finely divided solids. The fluid conduit 12 carries gases ordinarily but conceivably could carry liquids and might even carry a suspension of solids in either a liquid or gaseous fluid. It is even possible to feed gas through both the feed conduit 16 and the fluid conduit 12 to produce selected combinations, the product being a gaseous mixture. The device also lends itself to being used as a gas scrubber, to take material out of a gas mixture. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the uses to which the present. invention may be put are almost numberless and for this reason there has been no attempt to put specific limits on processing conditions and the like.

In addition to the modifications in the structure shown and described, other modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications within the scope'of the claims are intended to be within the scope andspirit of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for distributing material fed to it from above comprising,

a spin member having a generally upwardly diverging conical lower face, an upper face capable of receiving material from above and maintaining contact with said material while urging it outwardly along said upper face by centrifugal force and a generally symmetrical form about a vertical spin axis,

a fluid conduit terminating 'in an upwardly opening cooperating support member directly beneath the spin member and of such relative dimensions to receive the narrow end of the conical surface of the spin member within the internal walls of the cooperating support member and of such shape as to direct fluid upwardly along the conical face of the spin member, said spin member being adapted to be lifted by the flow of said fluid and retained in an elevated position only by the force of gravity opposing the force of said flow but having suflicient weight to stay within said cooperating support member and being supported only by the cooperating support member when said spin member is at rest so that in its elevated position the upper face of the spin member is laterally unobstructed,

fluid intercepting elements arranged at the surface of at least one of the cooperating members such that fluid flow through the space between said members causes revolution of the spin member about its spin axis, and

a feed supply for supplying selected material to the upper face of the spin member in the vicinity of the spin axis, whereby the selected material fed to the spin member flows outwardly away from the spin axis and is intercepted by the upward flow of fluid along the conical surface.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the conical surface of the spin member is provided with fluid intercepting elements in such arrangement that the fluid exerts a turbine-like action upon the spin member to induce a high velocity therein.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the fluid intercepting elements are grooves in the conical surface.

4. The device of claim 2 in which the fluid intercepting elements are vanes on the surface on the conical surface.

5. The device of claim 1 in which the cooperating support member over at least part of its extent has a surface opposed to the conical surface and of generally the same shape and is provided with fluid intercepting elements arranged to induce a rotating motion to the fluid intercepting elements arranged to induce a rotating motion to the fluid flowing between the support member and the spin member and thereby produce spin in the spin member.

6. The device of claim 5 in which the fluid intercepting elements in the surface of the support member are grooves.

7. The device of claim 5 in which the fluid intercepting elements in the internal surface of the support element are vanes.

8. The device of claim 1 in which material directing elements are provided at the surface of the spin member in order to direct and guide the outward flow of material.

9. The device of claim 8 in which the material directing elements are grooves.

10. The device of claim 8 in which the material directing elements are vanes.

11. The device of claim 1 in which the upper surface of the spin element is generally flat.

12. The device of claim 1 in which the upper surface of the spin element is concave, or dish-like.

13. The device of claim 1 in which the top surface of the spin element is provided with a central peak.

14. The device of claim 1 in which heating means is provided to heat one or more of the members and, in turn, heat material being processed.

15. The device of claim 14 in which the heating means provided is high frequency induction heating.

16. The device of claim 15 in which the high frequency inducting heating means is located and arranged spe cifically to heat the spin element, more completely and more thoroughly than the other element.

17. The device of claim 1 in which the spin and support members are housed within a chamber which serves as a means of confining and collecting the product produced by the spin action.

18. The device of claim 17 in which the chamber is intended to be used with at least one gaseous fluid and provided with a filter through which the gaseous fluid may escape and the chamber itself provides collection means into which a solid product may be collected.

19. The device of claim 17 in which the chamber has essentially vertical sidewalls and fluid supply means close spaced to said sidewalls provides a fluid layer along the sidewalls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 574,570 1/ 1897 Pollock 239-382 600,193 3/1898 Dolley et al. 239-383 1,335,453 3/1920 Nilson 219-1079 1,594,686 8/1926 Pease 239-21413 2,088,604 8/1937 Littlefield 219-1051 2,336,430 12/1943 Wery -199 2,566,274 8/ 1951 White et a1. 219-10.49 2,746,375 5/1956 Abbott et al 34-168 FOREIGN PATENTS 783,685 9/1957 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES York Demister Bulletin 30 (1961).

Farrall, Engineering for Dairy and Food Products, Wiley, New York (1963), pages 410', 412, 418-423 relied on.

Heid et al., Food Processing Operations, vol. 2, AVI Publishing Co., Westport, Conn. (1963), page 567 relied on.

HAROLD ANSHER, Primary Examiner W. E. HOAG, Assistant Examiner 

